15 of the most shocking British royal family scandals

British royal family scandals

They may follow centuries-old traditions and present themselves in perfect form, but the British royal family are proof that a family feud or scandal can’t escape even the most elite of circles.

Way back in the 1500s King Henry VIII was leading the way with his many wives, but even the modern day royals aren't immune to shock and drama, despite an understanding of the media and a team of PR specialists around them.

Princess Margaret was the initial scandal-child, bringing drama to her sister, Queen's Elizabeth's first few years of reign due to an affair with a married man. The younger sister of the Queen went on to have more than her fair share of scandal over the years, but it wasn't until the nineties, when Princess Diana spoke out about her troubled marriage to Prince Charles, that the media began to dig deep into the royal world.

In recent times Prince Harry led the way, although the 33-year-old is currently good as gold and following in his mother's charitable footsteps. Just recently, Prince William admitted that Princess Charlotte is "going to be trouble"...so are we to expect a new wild child?

From the drama that surrounded Queen Elizabeth's early reign to Prince Harry's multiple public slip-ups, here are the most shocking British royal family scandals...

British royal family scandals: Tampon-gate

A flirty phone exchange between the two was released as a recording in 1992, when Charles and Diana were still in a relationship. The quotes are shocking, but be warned: it will most certainly make you cringe.

Charles: "Oh god. I'll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!"

Camilla: (Laughs.) "What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers?" (Both laugh). "Oh, you're going to come back as a pair of knickers."

Charles: "Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck!" (Laughs.)

Camilla: "You are a complete idiot!" (Laughs.) "Oh, what a wonderful idea!"

British royal family scandals: King Edward VIII marrying a divorcee

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It doesn’t sound like a big deal now, but when the then-King Edward denounced the throne to marry two-time divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1936, the world was utterly shocked.

As the leader of the Church of England, King Edward went against everything religion believed then. The church forbade him to marry a divorcee, leaving him with the choice to leave Simpson or abdicate. He chose the latter.

"I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King [...] without the help and support of the woman I love," he said in a radio address to the nation in December 1936.

Edward and Simpson married in 1937 and stayed together until Edward's death in 1972. His brother George VI took over as King, but sadly died 16 years later, leaving Queen Elizabeth to take on the role of leader of the Commonwealth.

British royal family scandals: The rumour that Prince Charles is not Prince Harry’s real dad

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Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s tumultuous marriage and subsequent affairs were well-publicised in the late-1980s. Diana confessed in a 1995 BBC interview that she had an affair with army officer James Hewitt, and rumours that he is the real father of Prince Harry have circulated ever since since the two look so alike.

British royal family scandals: Princess Diana and alleged lover recorded on the phone

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Prince Charles wasn’t the only person heard to be having an awkward illicit phonecall. His wife Princess Diana became subject of “squidgygate” after a phone conversation between Diana and alleged lover named James Gilbey was leaked.

In the conversation, Gilbey told Diana that he loved her and called her by the pet name "Squidgy" 53 times.

In a later interview Diana confirmed that the conversation was real, but denied that it was adulterous in nature.

British royal family scandals: Princess Margaret fell in love with a married man

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Fans of Netflix series The Crown will know all about Queen Elizabeth’s sister’s love affair with married man who served the royal family. Captain Peter Townsend eventually divorced his wife and proposed to Princess Margaret, but the Church of England forbade a marriage.

Margaret eventually made a public statement ending the relationship.

British royal family scandals: Princess Margaret's high-profile divorce

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Shortly after her split from Peter Townsend, Margaret married photographer Anthony Armstrong Jones. However, their union was not a blissful one, and because subject of much scrutiny.

The couple divorced 16 years later. Margaret became the first royal to divorce since Henry VIII, who reigned in the 1500s.

British royal family scandals: Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret’s night out

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On VE Day 1945, a 19-year-old Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were given permission by their father King George VI, to leave Buckingham Palace and join the crowds of ordinary people on the streets of London.

They reportedly ended up doing the conga in The Ritz, and such a wild night it became that a film was recently made about the evening: A Royal Night Out.

British royal family scandals: Fergie’s “toe-licking” incident

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Sarah Ferguson was a popular royal when she married Prince Andrew in 1986. However, six years later she became the subject of a - rather strange - scandal. Cameras caught the Duchess of York with her toes in the mouth of Texas businessman John Bryan.

She and Prince Andrew had already announced their split, but this incident certainly outshone the marriage troubles.

British royal family scandals: Fergie bribe accusation

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Sadly, the drama wasn’t quite yet over for Fergie. In 2010, News of the World journalist posed as a businessman and said he got Fergie to accept a nearly $850,000 bribe in exchange for access to her ex-husband.

She later apologised, calling the incident a “serious lack in judgement”.

British royal family scandals: A teenage Prince Charles ordered a brandy

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In 1963, aged just 15, a bold Prince Charles walked into a pub and ordered a cherry brandy while on a school trip. As he was three years below the legal drinking limit, the incident sparked an international scandal.

40 years later, the Prince would be reprimanding his own son, Prince Harry, for an incident involving drugs.

British royal family scandals: Prince Harry spending a day in rehab

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It’s punishment as only the royals could do: after admitting to his father that he had tried marijuana, a 17-year-old Prince Harry was packed off to rehab to learn the error of his ways...for a day.

A statement from the royal family said the Harry had agreed to visit the clinic "to learn about the possible consequences of starting to take cannabis."

British royal family scandals: Prince Harry's Nazi costume

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Three years later in 2005, Harry shocked the world when pictures of him wearing a Nazi armband at a party emerged in a UK newspaper.

The 20-year-old prince quickly reacted with a statement of sincere apology that read "Prince Harry has apologised for any offence or embarrassment he has caused. He realises it was a poor choice of costume."

British royal family scandals: Prince Harry’s naked partying

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It’s no wonder Prince Harry is often referred to as the most rebellious royal. You wouldn’t know it now, but the charitable 33-year-old was a wild child in his twenties.

In 2012, aged 27, Harry was pictured frolicking naked in Las Vegas. Two pictures of the 27-year-old appeared on US website TMZ.com, showing Harry playing strip billiards with six young women. He was on a break before going to serve in Afghanistan for the British Army.

Afterwards, Harry spoke of his shame over the incident. “At the end of the day I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down…” he said.

“But it was probably a classic example of me probably being too much army, and not enough prince. It’s a simple case of that.”

British Royal family scandals: Princess Diana’s shocking TV interview

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In 1995, Diana sat down for a tell-all solo interview with journalist Martin Bashir. She spoke of her struggles with self-harm and bulimia, and it was the first time she admitted to know about Charles’ affair with Camilla.

The famous quote, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” came from this interview.

British royal family scandals: An intruder entered the Queen’s room

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The ultimate breach in royal security happened in 1982, when a man managed to scale Buckingham Palace. The intruder, Michael Fagan reportedly spoke to the Queen for 10 minutes as she calmed him down.

However, in 2012 he told the Independent that she ran off, and described "her little bare feet running across the floor."

He also admitted that he doesn’t know what made him commit the crime, but it may have been due to some magic mushrooms he put in his soup five months beforehand.